Chapter 32
The New Tactic
Harper
For a Monday morning, the diner is full of students.
I feel self-conscious sitting between Luke and Caden while we look at menus, waiting for the others to get here.
The booth is one of those curved ones, so we’re on display to the whole restaurant.
Whenever I glance over the menu, I accidentally meet someone’s gaze as they watch our table.
It’s unnerving.
Almost as bad as the school cafeteria. Caden’s hand rests on my thigh, and I jump at the touch. He chuckles and squeezes me.
“Relax, Harper.”
I cover my mouth with the menu when I say, “Easy for you to say. I’ve never been the center of anyone’s attention.”
“I love it when you’re the center of our attention.” His green eyes grow mischievous as his hand trails up my thigh higher. Heat floods me, but I clamp down on his hand before he gets too high. I hope my look communicates how not appropriate that is.
I slept naked between two horsemen and didn’t lose my virginity last night. The way they played with me though… My cheeks heat. It’s like everyone in this restaurant can tell what they’ve done to me.
Caden smirks and puts his arm around my shoulders, tugging me close until our thighs touch. “Chill, little nympho. No one’s coming near you with us here.”
Luke glances at me with a dark heat in his eyes that makes me squirm with need. Fuck.
“What’s the plan for today?” I clear my throat and set the menu on the table.
“I vote we play a game.” Nico slides in beside Luke. His smiling eyes meet mine, and a pulse of awareness shoots through me. Nico and I haven’t had much time to talk since he returned, but it also feels like he never left. We have this huge gap in our history, and I want to fill in the details.
“I’m game to play.” Jack slides into the booth next to Caden. He gives me a smile. “Last night was awesome, sweetheart. Best show yet.”
My cheeks flush hotter. It’s different when it’s just us, but right now it feels like the entire student body studies our every move. Leaning in to hear whatever we say.
“If it involves getting Harper naked, I’m game.” Caden squeezes my shoulder. He isn’t exactly quiet, and more than a few heads turn our way. I didn’t realize my face could feel this hot.
Luke takes my hand under the table and squeezes it slightly. My gaze finds his light blue eyes. He leans in to my ear. Our cheeks brush, sending sparks rushing through me.
“Ignore the others, princess. They just want to find out why we’re all fascinated with you.” He places a soft kiss beneath my ear, and a shiver works through me. When he draws back, there’s this softness on his face I haven’t seen since the night he spent alone with me.
I lift my hand and cup his jaw to check to see if he’s real. He leans into my hand and closes his eyes for a second, as if savoring my touch. Everything in me freezes as I take in the beautiful boy before me.
This is what draws me like a moth to the flame when it comes to Luke Foster. The little pieces of vulnerability he shows me, and then just as quickly they’re gone.
When he opens his eyes, he’s once again the king of the school. Cold, heartless Death. “Don’t let them have any of you, princess.”
He draws away, and part of me longs to draw him back in. His hand still holds mine below the table, and his thumb rubs over my wrist, sending sparks through me.
Eli joins the table. His dark eyes focus on me. He’s been sweet to me. Most girls claim he’s rough. That makes me pause. How much of what these guys have shown me is only to get into my pants?
Everyone knows they’re bullies. They rule the school with iron fists. They basically trapped me in this thing we’re doing.
But as I look around at my guys, I’m pretty sure it’s time to test my theory. I want them all, and it’s time I let them in a little further. And hope what they claim is true. That I’ll be theirs and they’ll be mine.
Worst that will happen is I lose my virginity in a spectacular way, and then they leave me. But I’m not sure I believe that will happen anymore.
“I hope you brought the jerseys.” Sidney and her posse of Cheermonsters, Emma, Hannah, and Ashley, stand in front of the table like a gang ready to do battle. Fists on cocked hips. All of them in perfectly sexy outfits, designed to show off their assets.
Sidney lets her eyes rest on each of the horsemen, but her gaze skips over me like I don’t exist. After my drunken call out, it could have been much worse. I snuggle into Caden’s side and cling to Luke’s hand.
Nodding, Eli holds out a stack of four jerseys. “Nico got his on Saturday, so you can use his as well.”
“That makes this easier.” Sidney takes the jerseys and shifts through them, reading the names on the backs. “So, Caden gets your whore first then?”
Luke tightens his hand around mine. Sidney lifts her calculating eyes to him with a smirk and glances my way.
I don’t react. Maybe she was hoping for it, but I know exactly what these girls think of me.
It doesn’t matter what they think. The guys are mine, and I’ve already told the Cheermonsters I won’t be needing them to help me out.
“If you’d rather find someone else’s jerseys to wear, that could be arranged.” Luke’s voice is calm, but there’s a sharp edge to it.
Sidney laughs like Luke said something funny. Her friends join in. “I could easily get other guys’ jerseys—”
“Worried about your jaw hurting?” Caden traces circles on my shoulder while his smile to Sidney doesn’t reach his eyes.
I keep my expression flat, trying not to remember her giving Brewster a blow job in front of us.
“Gotta admit you have some decent technique, but the quality of the show was definitely lacking.”
Sidney doesn’t even flinch. “We just love supporting the best of our team as cheerleaders.”
“I’m sure you do.” Caden leans back and smirks.
“But…” Ashley steps forward and gives Eli a look “After your pet’s little outburst, don’t come crawling back thinking we’ll be waiting for you.”
If the guys gave the Cheermonsters even a hint they might want them again, these girls would be all over them. I’m beginning to get it. Their attention is addictive.
Eli chuckles darkly. “Your services are no longer required.”
A flash of hurt crosses Ashley’s face before she turns her furious gaze to me. I’m so fucked.
“We agreed on the jerseys for next week. We’ll make sure to trade off with Harper.
But keep your little pet on her leash. Make sure she knows her place, and we’ll make sure her life doesn’t turn to hell.
” Sidney steps back with a cocky smile. “Otherwise, you’ll have to be careful about letting her stray. ”
Luke tenses again, but I squeeze his hand.
If he says something, it will only make it worse for me.
The threat is out there. I don’t need to be any more visible than I already am.
The Cheermonsters want to continue to rule the school.
Their fear is I’ll somehow rise to the top because of the guys, but that won’t happen.
I’m not meant to be popular and I’m good with that. But I’m not giving up my guys.
When Luke doesn’t say anything, Sidney spins on her heel.
“Ticktock, little virgin,” Hannah says as they walk away.
Crossing my legs, I look down at the menu. A weight settles in my gut. Those girls will make my life hell. Sure, they won’t beat me up or bully me, but they’ll paint a target on my back and let the other girls take their chunks out of me until there’s nothing left.
“Want me to do something about that?” Jack’s words make me glance at him. His expression is fierce and protective. I look around at the others, and they all have similar looks. My heart beats a little quicker at the realization they all would step up for me.
“If you did something, it would only make things worse,” I admit. “As long as they stay on top, I’ll be safe.”
I think.
“I don’t like it.” Luke threads his fingers through mine like he’s never going to let go, and a small part of me doesn’t want him to. “Too much power has gone to their heads.”
“We could take them down a notch.” Eli rubs his fingers over his lips. “Just enough to remind them who’s on top.”
I tense. I can’t help it. The guys can’t protect me every second of every school day. Even I, with my head in a hole, know how powerful those girls are. The retaliation won’t be at the guys. They’ll aim for the weakest link. Me.
“Not today.” Caden strokes his hand down my arm. “Today we should head back to my place. We can decide later if the girls are worth the trouble.”
I release the breath I didn’t realize I was holding and give Caden a small thank you smile. He leans down and brushes my hair away from my ear, sending shivers through me.
“I want to play with you, little nympho. So fucking badly.”
When he pulls back, his green eyes have darkened. A pulse of awareness races through me. Last night comes back into my mind. The feel of his cock between my legs. I tighten my legs against the ache building. Fuck it. I’m ready for more.
“You guys ready to order?” The server is in her late twenties, and her eyes flit from guy to guy. Admiration shines in her eyes, and she winks at me when she notices me watching her.
After taking our orders, she leaves. The guys chat about random stuff, some new video games, and I lean my head against Caden’s shoulder. Something settles inside me.
Surprisingly, I’m not nervous about my decision, but I’m not sure how I’m going to pick.
Even the who is difficult. Nico would have been my first if he’d stayed.
I have no doubt we would have been together.
The connection we felt as kids would have developed into more as naturally as a flower blooms.
But as much as I want him, he still feels new. We’ve done a lot this weekend, but I still don’t know teenage Nico the way I knew elementary school Nico. I want to know him better. Not to mention he might think it means more if I choose him.
Jack is fun and obviously the right size for the job. Though he’s still pretty big. I smile to myself. He’s been kind and caring. He’s not as aggressive as some of the others. Even our first kiss, he let me lead.
I don’t really want to lead with my first time.
Eli makes me feel alive. He’s considerate and he can turn on the charm like no one else. I can’t help but want his aggression, but maybe not for the first. I’m already worried about how it will feel.
If it will hurt. It can, but it doesn’t always. At least that’s what I’ve read.
I want to enjoy my first time. While I may enjoy the way Eli fucks me, maybe even crave it, I don’t want my first time to be rough. A little shiver ripples through me.
The server returns with our food, and Luke lifts my hand and kisses my knuckles. Our eyes meet, and that tension flows between us. That longing and craving for each other. He kisses my knuckles again before releasing my hand to eat.
Luke Foster. The pale horseman. There’s something magnetic about him that keeps drawing me in, even if he’s the most problematic of the group. He’s jealous and possessive, but when he touches me, I crave him. I want him to fuck me.
But he doubts me. He thought I let Tanner touch me. If I let him possess me first, who’s to say he would let the others have me? Claim me as just his? Last night, I was tempted. I could have let him take me.
I want Luke. There’s no denying it. The chemistry between us is intense. But he wants to own me, and giving him that piece of me might make him think he does own me. I can’t give him that leverage, because I’m not sure I’ll be strong enough to deny his claim.
Caden’s leg shifts next to mine. When I look up into his green eyes, he smiles before tearing into a piece of bacon. A breath escapes me as butterflies race through my veins. If Nico had been here, he would have been the one, but now…
Caden cocks an eyebrow, questioning me silently. Everything Caden’s done has wrapped me closer and closer to him. Even when he’s been an ass. He wants me in his life, and like an insane person, I like him even more for that.
He’s soft and hard, loving and fierce. He pushes me, but then he holds me back. He’s a monster and a teddy bear. And yet, he also has a really huge cock, which is terrifying. But we were made to fit together. My pussy throbs thinking about how he fills my mouth and feels sliding against me.
“Dirty thoughts, little nympho?” he asks in my ear. “Any way I can help with those?”
I search his eyes, making sure this is the right answer.
He was my first kiss. When my car had a flat, he championed me even when they were punishing me. He believed me with Tanner. My refusal to get to know the horsemen made him angry.
He wants to keep me.
And part of me wants to keep him, even if it’s ridiculous and we’re only eighteen. And there’s no way I’m having ten kids.
I reach up and rub my hand over the scruff on his jaw. He smiles and pretends to nip at my hand. My heart thumps against my chest.
This is easier than I thought it would be.
I’ll get to be with all of them, but for my first time, I want it to be Caden.